


Call line for the Sleepless

by fantasminity



Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: F/M, Late Night Phone Calls, Simon felt very exasperated little brother as I was writing this and I kinda liked it, Unsoundiversary 2020, alex can't sleep again, very light, you could probably call it fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasminity/pseuds/fantasminity
Summary: It's late and Alex can't sleep. As usual. So it's sleep note time. Except there is a lot of banging going on from her neighbor's apartment and someone with an unknown number keeps texting her. Which was entertaining until they ratted her out and her phone rang.~Silly little one-shot. Set late in the series I guess, but that's not really that important to the story.
Relationships: Alex Reagan/Richard Strand
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	Call line for the Sleepless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emmiewithacape](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmiewithacape/gifts).



> Happy Unsoundiversary, to my Tall Paul buddy slightlyuncomfortablepastry!!  
> I'm sorry it took me so long to post. Every time I was like, one more read through then I post, I kept adding things and fixing things, haha. I am super excited to give this to you though. You wanted Streagan and something on the happy side and I am pleased to present. Hope you like it! :)

“Jesus, I need some sleep,” Alex sighed, rubbing her face tiredly with one hand. 

She sat on the foot of her bed, facing the pillows she had just been laying facedown on in a final attempt to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she was curled over them as she recorded. Alex lifted her head when there was a knock behind her. Turning to look at the wall across the room from her, she squinted in the dark, but the shadows remained flat and motionless because they were just regular old shadows. This time.

It was the wall that she shared with the apartment next door and she tried to brush it off as having been their cat or something knocking something off a shelf. It was nothing. Nothing demonic or unearthly; just a cat being a cat at night. A cat with eerily good timing… 

Uneasy, but not too jumpy yet, Alex returned to her sleep note. She pulled the edge of her blankets over her bare toes and fiddled with the recorder for a moment before pushing the button and continuing where she had left off once the little light was illuminated.

“I’m so tired, but nothing is working. Maybe I’ll go for a walk. I think the fresh air-” 

This time there were two bangs and Alex jumped in her bed, whipping around to press her back against her headboard. She dropped the recorder in her haste and felt around in the blankets for it. Her eyes scanned the darkness, but found nothing out of the ordinary, not that there was much to see in her dim bedroom. She still hadn’t turned on her lamp, but the longer she kept it off, the less she wanted to reach out and turn it on. In an unusual moment of childlike mentality, she was sure if there was something in her room right now, it hadn’t gotten her yet. If she turned her light on and saw it, it would see her too and that would be the end. For just a moment, the darkness was her sanctuary because as it hid the things in shadows from her, so it hid her from them.

She finally found her recorder and pulled a blanket loose from her nest to wrap it around her shoulders, trying to convince herself that the goosebumps rising on her skin were just from a chill even though she knew better. She was too smart to believe even her own lies, but sometimes just saying them made her feel a little better.

“Ok, I think I might be too jumpy to go for a walk now,” she admitted in a soft whisper to her recorder. There was a single bang and she frowned at the wall across from her and decided to try something despite the shiver that was tingling down her spine. It was too much of a coincidence to not at least _try_ even if it terrified her. She had to know.

“So I should make some tea, go back to sleep then?” She asked the dark room. 

A single, more gentle knock was the response. Her eyebrows nearly shot off her head in surprise when it worked. This was surreal, but the weirdness of it spurred her on with a bravado that was more routinely suited to her daylight endeavors. 

“Really? You think tea is gonna work after everything else I’ve already tried?” Another single knock. All of the sudden, a wave of sheer stubbornness came over her and she was left feeling rather argumentative. At a noise in her room. A noise playing audio ouija board with her. Absolutely nothing could go wrong with this, so she proceeded.

“Oh really? No, I think I’m gonna go out and have a couple drinks, maybe hit up a club-“ 

A loud bang followed by another echoed through her room this time and she smirked even as she was distracted by a text alert on her phone. It was an unknown number and was in all caps. She set her recorder down in exchange for her phone. The bright screen made her eyes water and for a moment she struggled to read the message, but she adjusted her screen and blinked at it until her brain finally processed the text.

_“STAY IN BED AND GO TF TO SLEEP, ALEX.”  
_“Who and what the hell is this?” She muttered, her fingers hovering over her screen. She briefly wondered if Amalia had gotten a new number, but dismissed it. Amalia was more of an all lower case texter and she never used her name, always A, after Alex had made a joke about protecting their identities in case Amalia’s phone got stolen by an aggrieved subject of her investigation.

_“I don’t think I’m gonna take advice from an unknown number. Who is also awake rn and telling me to sleep. Hypocrite much?”_

_“Also, who the fuck is this?”_ she added. They replied almost instantly.

_I MEAN IT. I’LL TELL STRAND_

“ _You’ll tell Strand on me for not sleeping? I’m a grown ass adult. What is he gonna do? Ground me?”_

Alex smirked a little as she waited for a reply and eventually read her message out loud to the room in hopes of getting an auditory reply. She received neither text nor knock and flopped back on her bed in frustration and tried to fall asleep again while she waited. She flung her arm over her eyes with her phone in hand, but sleep refused to grace her very tired body and mile a minute brain with it’s presence. After what was according to her clock only a half an hour, her phone rang in her hand. The screen read “Richard” with a ghost emoji followed by a red X and had a sulky photo of him she had taken in her office when he had been visibly peeved at her and she had just laughed at his mood. She answered the call.

“Hey Richard. What’s keeping you awake tonight?” she asked, trying not to sound too cheerful. Being unable to sleep during the hours of rest left her so very, very bored at night. There was literally nothing to due but stare at the walls and hope for sleep. Any distraction was good at this point. Even better if it helped her forget everything long enough to sleep for an hour or two. Richard was a wonderful distraction-if they could stay off the topic of demons and math for a little while.

“Simon.” Richard’s voice was sharp and curt and she could feel him scowling through the phone.

“What about him? You sound grumpy. Why are you up?”

“He called me. Wouldn’t quit calling me until I agreed to call you and tell you to go to bed. I don’t even know how he got my personal cell number. Very few people have that. And I’m not gru-“ She laughed, cutting him off.

“Ignoring _how_ he called me for the moment, _why_ is he calling me about your sleep habits?” Richard sighed. The bed creaked before he continued. “At…two forty in the morning?”

Alex imagined he’d moved to check the time on his nightstand clock and then laid back down on in his bed with his phone pressed to her ear like she was. She felt a flush on her cheeks. It was silly and childish, but she liked the feeling of knowing someone somewhere else was doing exactly what she was. Or maybe it was just that she liked the thought of Richard doing the same thing she was.

“He said I should…ground you?” Richard continued, sounding bewildered and Alex snorted. “What was he talking about?”

“It’s nothing. I just can’t sleep and was considering going out for a bit, but Simon thinks I should stay in bed. That’s all.” She heard his bed groan in protest as he shifted quickly.

“Is Simon there?” he asked sharply.

“No, no he is not,” she assured him. “He just has an uncanny timing about knowing when I’m struggling to sleep tonight. That’s all.”

“Oh, ok…good. I just…” He trailed off and Alex curled onto her to side and for a moment, the only sound of them breathing.

“You just what?” she ventured. Richard took a long time to answer, but when he did, his voice was soft and more vulnerable than she thought she had ever heard him. It was strange, but also somewhat heartbreaking, knowing this was small lapse in how closed off he felt he needed to be at all times in order to protect the people in his life.

“I just worry about you, that’s all. I worry about you getting the sleep you need and I worry about someone breaking into your home because of all…this; because of everything you’re involved in now because of me.”

“Its not because of you, Richard,” she told him. “You didn’t ask to be a part of…whatever this is.” Alex waved her hand vaguely in the darkness until she settled on the very broad term of ‘this’ for the black tapes and the cults and the sacred geometry.

“And…I’m not _glad_ exactly to be a part of whatever this is, but I’m glad to have met you and to be figuring it out with you.”

“Oh.” His voice had dropped low and husky as he said this and a moment later, he cleared his throat and the tone was gone. And just like that, it was normal, meticulously stiff Richard Strand speaking to her again through the phone.

“I’m glad to be partnering with you as well.”

Alex didn’t bother to hide her smile, since it wasn’t like he or anyone else was here to see it spread across her face. Had they been together in person in her office or his father’s house, she would have held it in or turned away casually to hide it, but she tried not to let how pleased she was seep into her voice. She really didn’t want to seem so desperate that just hearing a small bit of affirmation could lift her spirits as much as it did. She did not need anyone’s approval-especially not that of cynical, close-minded and pig headed more-doctorates-than-you Richard Strand-but it was still nice. It made her feel warm and syrupy to know that he enjoyed what they did together as much as she did, even if they disagreed and fought. They always came back around to each other…eventually.

Richard’s bed creaked again and he muttered about how cold the floor was. Alex found herself rolling onto her stomach and feeling around under her bed for her slippers as the urge to walk around hit her. She actually might make that cup of tea for herself.

“What are you doing?” She asked, stretching as she could just feel her second slipper with her fingertips.

“Getting up to make some tea. I won’t be falling back asleep any time soon. Might as well make use of my time awake.”

“Sorry. I’m not going to be able to sleep for a while either,” Alex grunted, inching further off her mattress and curling under her bed in desperate search of her shoe.

“It's fine. What _are_ you doing?” He inquired as he filled his tea kettle. Alex heard his stove clicking as it ignited and the clang of him setting it down a little too hard. He must not have turned on the kitchen light. An inability to see was the only reason Alex could think of that would explain him being clumsy like that.

“Trying to…get my…slipper. Ha!” Triumphantly, her fingers curled around the heel of her fuzzy slipper and she yanked it towards her. As her shoe came closer, Alex realized she was still sliding down off her bed. Phone still pressed to her ear by one hand, she tried to brace herself with her other arm, but it was too late. She tipped entirely off the mattress and onto her head and then shoulder with a loud thump. Her phone flew out of her hand and skittered across her floor towards the foot of her bed.

“Well shit,” she muttered, trying to uncurl from her unintended somersault attempt without kicking anything. She failed and managed to knock her ankle against the corner of her nightstand as she righted herself to a sitting position. Clutching her ankle as it throbbed in pain, she inched across the wood floor until her phone was in reach again. She was picking it up as Richard asked what had happened.

“Alex, what did you do?” He seemed a little agitated-it was hard to tell if it was annoyance or worry over the phone when she couldn’t see his face, but she hoped hoped for the latter-and she winced, both in pain and embarrassment.

“Sorry, Richard. I dropped my phone. While I was falling off my bed,” she added, cringing. She tried to brush it off with an awkward laugh and quickly nudged the conversation forward as she stood up and tested her ankle. It was fine. It would probably bruise though. She pushed her feet into her hard won slippers and reached for a blanket off her bed.

“What kind of tea are you making?”

“Nice try. The same I always make. How did you manage to fall off your bed?”

“I was attempting to grab my slipper without getting off my bed so I could put them on without touching the floor. Which clearly did not go well.” Alex laughed, because if she could laugh at herself, then maybe she could get over the embarrassment of the moment. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and tucked it close.

“What are you going to do for the rest of your evening-er morning?” Richard asked.

“Probably watch a movie. I don’t know. Work. I’ll find something.”

“Do you ever sleep, Alex? I mean really sleep. You always seem tired and you drink coffee like its water. You’re awake at all hours and I do mean all hours. Nic informed me you were on twitter the other day four hours after you’d assured him you were going to sleep.” 

Richard’s tone had gone mildly scolding and Alex found she wasn’t quite as irritated as she might usually have been because she was imagining the look he’d give her if they were having this conversation in person. She could even see the way his eyebrows would come together as he tried to look stern and disapproving, but she knew his eyes would be filled with concern, softening his face. She would pat his arm and assure him she was fine and if she was lucky, he’d squeeze her hand and sigh and let it go for the time being. He might even let her hug him briefly. If she wasn’t lucky, he’d brush her hand off and delve into one of his slightly more parental sounding lectures as he paced. And she’d let him because when he was done, he would add that he was just worried about her and hearing him say that and seeing the true concern on his face left a warm feeling in her belly, as if she’d downed a shot of whiskey, but without the burn in her throat.

“I did go to sleep when I told Nic I did. I just don’t sleep for very long. I’m fine, Richard. Really. And besides, you’re the one in the ancient old house all alone. How do you sleep at all with all the noises it makes?”

“The creaking is not as bad as you would think. It’s actually kind of soothing in a gothic way, but don’t try to turn this on me. I am-“ he started to say, but she interrupted.

“Don't you dare say fine. You were one step away from perfecting the unibomber look not that long ago and on the topic of things we don’t do but should, you barely eat. So if you eat more, I’ll try to sleep more, deal?” 

There was a long moment of silence which Alex forced herself to uphold while Strand debated her ultimatum. It was a silly ultimatum, but she was getting a little tired of everyone telling her to sleep. Obviously she would if she could, but it was especially annoying coming from the man who had his own shortcomings. She would be damned if she didn’t at least point out the hypocrisy of him telling her to sleep while he seemed to survive solely off of tea and a daily power bar. Finally, he broke the silence with a chuckle.

“That’s not the same thing. And you didn’t care for the beard?” 

His tone had been faintly hurt, but she hadn’t quite caught that he had been joking, until she’d already started explaining. The flannels and jeans were fine-even a little humanizing-and the full beard was a very firm no, but a little facial hair-

“Hmm, Ruby said the same thing.”

They laughed and an easy silence stretched out between them this time as Richard poured his tea. Alex remembered she had planned on making some for herself and she shuffled into her kitchen, flipping every light on as she went. While rummaging in her cupboard, Richard started talking again.

“I don’t mind the quiet-I like it actually-but the house is a little bit lonely,” he admitted. “I guess I’m just so used to a smaller space that doesn’t feel quite so empty with just me in it.”

“Maybe you should get a cat?”

“I’m not getting a cat,” he deadpanned almost before she’d finished the suggestion. 

Ruby had apparently been harping on him to get a companion lately and Alex had said it just to tease him a little about the time she’d walked into her office and caught him on the Human Society page on his laptop. He’d slammed his computer shut and refused to answer any questions about it, pretending not to hear her when she prodded that topic until she gave up and moved on to Black Tapes related things.

“Hmm…hey Richard? If your house is that big and lonely and neither of us can sleep, why don’t we keep each other company tonight?” Alex suggested, trying to sound calm and collected and not at all like her heart was suddenly racing. She didn’t know where the idea had come from or what had possessed her to actually vocalize it, but it was too late now.

“We could make popcorn and watch a movie and then I can prove to you that I do sleep and you can eat some popcorn and rest easy knowing I’m not alone. It’s a win-win.” 

To her and her heart rate's relief, he was quick to answer.

“Only if you bring the popcorn. I’m pretty sure what I have here is…really not meant for consumption anymore.”

“It’s a deal then. I’ll see you in about thirty minutes. Bye, Richard!”

“Bye, Alex. Drive safe.”

Before Alex left her apartment, weekend bag thrown over one shoulder and box of microwave popcorn packets and a few movies in hand, she typed a quick text to the unknown number that had been lecturing her on her sleep and started this whole thing.

“thanks. I think I’ll be sleeping just fine tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had an entirely different idea I wanted to gift you, but I derailed when someone joking suggested in the discord chat that Simon should tell Alex to stay in bed and sleep and my brain latched onto it and refused to entertain any other plot ideas, so here ya go. A lot of the details in this have just been rattling around my brain so I'm happy to see them all written out. I might do a small continuation where they are actually watching the movie (its already forming in my head), but we'll see.


End file.
